Autonomous Underwater Vehicle guidance and control system: India procurement notice

Development and reported outcome

On June 3, 2026, DRDO issued GeM bid GEM/2026/B/7425437 for consultancy services to optimise the guidance and control system of an autonomous underwater vehicle. The beneficiary is the Director, Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, and the work is UUV-specific engineering intended to improve AUV guidance and control performance. Bids closed on June 24; the accessible procurement record does not independently support the previously entered INR 1.7464 million contract value, so no award value is asserted.[S1]

Program, platform and stakeholders

Programme or contract: GEM/2026/B/7425437 - Consultancy for Performance Optimisation of AUV Guidance & Control System. Platform or product: Autonomous Underwater Vehicle guidance and control system. Platform classification: Autonomous Operated Vehicle. Recorded supplier, developer or relevant organization: DRDO / Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) (reported headquarters/country: India). Recorded customer, operator or intended user: Director, Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi (reported headquarters/country: India).[S1]

Mission and technical scope

The following are classifications recorded in the source master, not additional claims of operational deployment: Mission/use-case classification: Guidance, control and AUV performance engineering.

Contract, value and shipment signals

Original reported amount or scope: INR 1,746,400 estimated tender value; EMD INR 52,392. Original-currency label: INR. Recorded quantity, delivery, demonstration or volume signal: 1 consultancy service package; not one AUV. Delivery schedule, procurement window or milestone status: Bid closed 24-Jun-26; accessible record shows award pending. Recorded contractual end: 24-Jun-26 bid close.[S1]

Source verification and interpretation limits

UXV Searcher master source-coverage note: Accessible tender data confirms GeM bid GEM/2026/B/7425437, AUV guidance-and-control consultancy scope, INR 1,746,400 estimated value, INR 52,392 EMD, quantity 1 service package, and award-pending status. Quantity is not an AUV count.

Interpretation boundary: The tender, notice or request stage does not by itself prove a signed contract, selected supplier, or physical delivery.[S1]

UXV Searcher analysis — what the development changes

UXV Searcher interpretation — procurement requirement / tender: The India UUV record for GEM/2026/B/7425437 - Consultancy for Performance Optimisation of AUV Guidance & Control System is best treated as a procurement pipeline signal. A published requirement can indicate addressable demand, but it is not an award, supplier revenue, shipment, or fleet increase.

Traceability for buyers: The dataset associates DRDO / Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL) with Director, Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle guidance and control system. This supports stakeholder mapping; supply-chain tier, exclusivity and signed-customer relationships need the underlying source before firm classification.

Client-use interpretation: For intelligence users tracking Guidance, control and AUV performance engineering, the relevant next proof points are underwater endurance, navigation, payload integration and operator acceptance. Track the award notice, signed value and accepted delivery quantities before upgrading this demand signal.[S1]

Quantitative evidence, calculations and limits

Financial signal (master transcription): INR 1,746,400 estimated tender value; EMD INR 52,392. Classification: Tender estimate, ceiling or budget, not necessarily an awarded or paid amount. Quantity/scope signal: 1 consultancy service package; not one AUV. Counting rule: Requested scope; not a delivery or award total. Delivery/timing evidence: Bid closed 24-Jun-26; accessible record shows award pending. Scheduling language is not independently proof of completion or acceptance.

Quantified requirements are potential procurement scope, not realised hardware orders or sales.[S1]